Everyone made fun of the Simple Man. They all indulged in their lust for fun making by taking it out on him.
What was he doing wrong that they treated him in this manner? He was not acting in a way that affected anyone else negatively. He was not running around town screaming like a lunatic. He was not harming anyone else's property! He only looked strange to them because he was always happy, and the other people could not comprehend his joy.
Too often we find an excuse to ridicule others who are really guilty of nothing other than being different. That difference bothers us (it is really we who need the psychological help to deal with that) and we respond with ridicule and scorn.
Mark down another area in which I have had to work hard for a long time. Every time I think of this topic I am reminded of a boy who went to high school with me; he was really weird. And I made sure he knew that was my opinion of him. I get so ashamed of my behavior back then whenever I think about it. Even more so when the reality is that our scorn is really due to an inner jealousy of the fact that someone else has found peace in a way that we have not merited to find.
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